Relationship between International law and Municipal Law

 

International law is the set of rules generally regarded and accepted as binding in relations between states and nations. It determines the responsibilities and obligations of each state, organization or individuals. In other words, it refers to the body of legal decisions, rules and customs that regulate the discourse between nations (eg. human rights, military intervention and other global concerns such as- climate change, green house effect etc)

Municipal law is the national, domestic or internal law of a sovereign state. It is specific to a particular country, city, town, district or governmental entity possessing its own governing body. It includes many levels of law not only national law but also state, provincial, territorial, regional or local law. It governs the action of individuals and commercial entities within the border of sovereign state. It regulates the conduct of nation.

Similarities between IL and ML

§  The subject of both IL and ML are same (eg. individuals, because states are only groups of individuals)

§  They both regulate human conduct for the establishment of peaceful environment.

§  Both are part of universal body of legal rules binding human beings collectively or singly.

§  They both derive from higher law founded on principles of right and wrong.

§  They are the part of same juristic conception of universal justice.

§  They both use customs and general principles of law as the source of formulating law.

§  They both have own executive and judicial bodies for implementation of responsibilities.

§  Both systems have responsibilities while violating the law of their jurisdiction.

§  They both have their own law formulation bodies, rules and process.

§  They both create the law according to the necessities.

Dissimilarities/differences/distinctions between these two

§  IL is the law of nations, regulating the relations among the member states of the family of nations. ML is the law of state, regulating the conduct of individuals and deals with the relation between individual and the state.

§  IL is concerned mainly with foreign affairs or inter-state affairs. ML is concerned with domestic affairs or intra-state affairs.

§  IL is a nature of consent and consensus. ML is a nature of command and sanction.

§  IL is a decentralized system acting horizontally. ML is centralized system acting vertically.

§  IL applies on individuals mediate. ML applies on individuals immediately.

§  IL is the common will of the states. ML is the will of the state empowered by sovereign authority.

§  IL is considered as a weak law. ML is considered as a strong law. (Positivists)

§  In IL treaties, conventions, customs, general principles of law are the primary sources. In ML legislation is the primary source.

§  IL has not any particular powerful bodies to create, enact and adjudicate the law. ML is created, enacted and adjudicated by three main organs of the state namely the legislature, executive and judiciary.

§  Every citizen of a nation is bound by the law enacted by the legislature is municipal law however the international law is binding only when it is adapted and ratified by the nation.